


Life After Death

by tobiasandtris46



Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-07
Packaged: 2018-11-29 00:10:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11429115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tobiasandtris46/pseuds/tobiasandtris46
Summary: Nessian mini fic inspired by @sallteas 's latest nessian art!





	Life After Death

Cassian’s wings were gone.

The healers said the damage was too much. They said that no magic, no salve, no anything, would fix it. They were beyond broken, between the magic that tore them the first time and how the King actually _broke_ them the last time. There was nothing to do except amputate them, so that was what happened.

Cassian was in distress. He was ashamed, because _an Illyrian without his wings was no one at all_. That was what he said before going into surgery. It was what he still believed, as he didn’t get out of bed or didn't eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Each meal he didn’t show up for, everyone worried. Feyre, Rhys, Azriel, Mor; they all didn’t know what to do. But they weren’t the only ones who felt that way.

Nesta.

Ever since the day of the High Lord meeting, before they left, when something had _clicked_ , there was a small pull to Cassian she had. Then, before the war had ended, she had suspected it was something, like what Feyre and Rhys had between them.

The mating bond.

Every time Nesta passed his room, something in her yearned to open the door, to walk inside and see if he was alright. There was a feeling of misery and shame deep in her gut that she knew wasn’t all of hers. It was him, Cassian, and he was suffering, maybe more than all of them.

Nesta did walk into his room when the door was cracked, though. There was a healer there, almost forcing medicine down Cassian’s throat, demanding that he drink. When he didn’t give in, the healer gently rubbed salve on Cassian’s back, placed a fresh set of bandages over the area, and left the room with an annoyed huff. His black tank top still sat shoved up in the back, and when Cassian moved to fix it was when he smelled the scent of Nesta in his room.

“Whatever you're here for, I’m not getting out of bed. Or eating.”

Nesta stepped closer, closer, closer to the bed, a piece of her long hair falling in front of her face as she looked down to him. “You’re too stubborn for your own good,” she said.

“Please leave if you're going to insult me.”

“That wasn’t an insult.” Carefully, Nesta watched as Cassian turned at her tone. “You are stubborn. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, take your medications, and get out of bed.”

“You don’t understand,” Cassian murmured. There was no feeling in his eyes.

“Understand what?”

“I am _nobody_ without my wings.” Cassian’s hazel eyes turned dark with rage. “I will go to an Illyrian camp and will get more shame and insults thrown at me.”

“You’re still an Illyrian, with or without your wings. You’re an Illyrian who helped win the war, who almost _died_ , because of it, many times.” Nesta wanted to climb into the bed then, wanted to hold Cassian in her arms, wanted _him_ to hold her in his own.

“I wish I would've.”

Silence filled the room. There was nothing except Nesta’s breaths, how it stopped once he said the words, and Cassian’s grunt of pain as he tried to move his body away. It was then that Nesta sat down on the silk sheets that covered his mattress. Softly, she took his face in her hands.

“You told me that you would find me, in the next life. That we didn't have the time in that life and we would find it in the next one.” Her eyes searched his, trying to find the real emotion she knew was there. “This is the next world, Cassian, and you’re not doing anything but sitting in your bed, mourning over something that won’t come back. This is the world with peace, and you are here, alive. You are still the Illyrian who has saved lives and you are the male that promised to protect my life, and did so. Because we are _here_ , and we are _alive_ , and you need to get out of this slump and realize there is life after it feels as though death has come.”

As his arm slid up slowly to hold her back, Nesta sat to the side, and laid down on the bed, letting Cassian bring the red blankets over them. His other hand moved to hold the back of Nesta’s head, tangling in her hair as their foreheads touched. Nesta’s hands went from holding his cheeks to wrapping loosely around his neck. Neither of them spoke for a while, as they closed their eyes and their legs intertwined.

Then, beats of silence later, Cassian whispered, “Don’t let me go.”

Nesta’s arms tightened some in response, and she pressed her body closer. It wasn't long before them both fell asleep, held tight in each other's arms.


End file.
